O’Fallon bus drivers adapt with the COVID-19 times but smiles stay the same

While safety protocols have changed how school bus drivers operate during the coronavirus pandemic, employees of the Illinois Central Bus Company say their commitment to the students, parents and schools has not.

O’Fallon Manager Kelley Shore said the drivers and monitors greet every child with a smile to help the children start their day off happily.

“Helping the students every day keeps us all young at heart,” Shore said. “Our bus drivers are real troopers. We’re doing everything we can to be safe.”

Illinois Central serves O’Fallon, Shiloh and Fairview Heights public schools, and while the school districts vary in their needs this semester, the transportation service has adapted to the changes.

“It’s been challenging, and we have to be flexible,” Shore said. “Everyone must be masked, and after each route, the buses are sanitized.”

O’Fallon Township High School plans to start hybrid or in-person learning on Jan. 19, while Central, District 90 and Shiloh are in-person learning.

Last semester, there was limited ridership and school district plans changed, so they adapted carefully to COVID-19 restrictions.

“We have a great relationship with the school districts. They care about the kids. We just rolled with whatever came our way. There is a constant back and forth,” Shore said.

A veteran of 31 years, Shore said the Illinois Central team has always set high standards for safety, cleanliness and on-time service.

She trained as a driver, drove, moved up to safety officer, and then was promoted to co-manager with Gina Sooy, who recently left to join her husband whose job relocated. Now, Shore is the local manager, charged with keeping 100 employees and four school district superintendents happy.

In O’Fallon, the team features 73 drivers — with about one-fourth of them experienced in driving students to and from school each day for more than a decade — and 21 monitors. They also help other districts when needed.

“The O’Fallon group is like a home,” Shore said. “They’re in it for the right reasons. And it’s a good part-time job.”

Sue Hafford, Longest Tenure

Sue Hafford, 73, of Fairview Heights has driven for 33 years. She learned to drive a bus with a five-speed, hand-shift transmission. Today, all buses have automatic transmission.

For the past six years, she has driven vans that transport special needs students.

After her three sons were grown, that’s when she became a bus driver. She keeps at it because of the youngsters.

“I enjoy the kids and each day is a new day,” she said. “I like getting to know the kids, watching them grow from one year to the next.”

She is particularly fond of driving young students, such as Pre-K.

“You never know what’s going to come out of their mouths,” she said.

With some students, Hafford has gone “full circle,” as they have grown up and become parents, and she is transporting their children.

Establishing rules early on helped her maintain order, she said. Her philosophy was mutual respect.

“They needed to follow the rules. That’s the way it was,” she said. “I had to be firm, but I didn’t need to be mean about it.”

Nicknames such as ‘Principal Sue’

She earned nicknames over the years: “Principal Sue,” “Green Slip Sue” and “Aunt Sue” (after picking up a relative en route, she became everyone’s aunt, she said).

She said she is grateful to have maintained a good rapport over the years. When Hafford would see a student out in public, they came over.

“The little ones, they come up and hug you,” she said.

Besides the daily route, Hafford said she enjoyed taking sports teams to their game destinations and classes on field trips.

“It’s been an enjoyable adventure because I get to go to all these different places — the zoo, museums, different cities,” she said.

The schedule has been appealing too.

“That is a great part of the job,” Hafford noted.

Rob Peak, 9-Year Veteran

Moving to O’Fallon from Mattoon, Illinois, to be with family led Rob Peak into a second career with the bus company. And now as a safety trainer, he loves his work.

“We transport precious cargo,” he said. “Safety is our No. 1 priority.”

As a driver, getting to know the coaches as he took teams to their events was a nice perk.

“Meeting people has been really great — the kids, the coaches, the administration. The best part of my job is interacting with them,” Peak said.

Odessa Sims, Another Veteran

Odessa Sims, agreed. She has been driving for nine years.

“They’re family,” she said.

She has enjoyed the charter trips — taking the bands and other groups to events.

“There are so many different people, it’s diverse,” she said. “The people I deal with are excellent. Parents appreciate that we keep their kids safe. You just have to be vigilant.”

She notices the kids have respect for each other, too.

“They get it. I love the kids. They have such joy. You give them a smile and they give you one back,” Sims said.

Nicole Bach

One of the youngest drivers, Bach said she returned to school to work on her bachelor’s degree while still working part-time driving a school bus.

She starts about 6:50 a.m. and then finishes the morning shift about 8:30 a.m., then studies remotely through Arizona State University as a psychology major, then returns for the afternoon shift from 1-3:30 p.m.

Bach said she is willing to go the extra step to make sure kids get home safely.

“The job is what you make it. I try to be positive. Why dwell on the negative?” she said.

Milestones

Drivers recently celebrating long-time service milestones include:

• Barb Thomas, Debbie Geasley and Eugene Williams, all of O’Fallon; and Pam Winkler of Belleville, with more than 20 years.
• Monitors with more than 10 years of service include Theresa George, Charla King and Cynthia Wolff, all of O’Fallon; Robbie Harris of Fairview Heights; and Allen Mobley and Peggy Lugge, both of Belleville.
• Mel and Becky Jones of Caseyville have worked together for 20 years, with him driving and her serving as student monitor.

Recruiting

“We’re seeking new drivers now, people who are careful, responsible and caring,” Shore said, noting “and we offer paid training.”

Illinois Central also offers paid holidays and a work schedule tied to the school calendar; that is, drivers are off on all school holidays.

“It’s a flexible job, a good part-time job for a retiree,” Shore said.

The driver training program, which exceeds the requirements of every state in which the company operates, includes training courses and video tutorials concerning defensive driving, student management, first aid and danger zones.

Safety is the cornerstone of the company’s hiring, training and continuing communication with drivers, technicians and every member of the team. After comprehensive on-board training, every driver must complete continuing monthly training programs and an annual driving evaluation.

For information on becoming an Illinois Central school bus driver, call 618-632-3399 and ask for Chris or see www.DriveAYellowBus.com.

Illinois Central School Bus is a member of the North America Central School Bus family of companies, the fourth largest school bus operator in the nation.

The company uses GPS technology to know the exact location of every bus at all times, transporting more than 15,000 children to and from school each day, using 3,000 buses and vans.

This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 4:14 PM.